Ukraine. Lugansk region

Until recently, only the residents of this country and former citizens of the USSR heard about this region of Ukraine until recently. Today, Lugansk region is heard by everyone.

General information

Lugansk region is the most eastern region of Ukraine. It is located on a plain that runs from the valley of the river. Seversky Donets. In the south it is the Donetsk ridge, and in the north are the spurs of the Central Russian Upland. Due to good climatic conditions and a good location, this area has always been inhabited by people. Luhansk region borders with Donetsk (south-west) and Kharkov (north-west) regions of Ukraine. In addition, it has a long border with Russia. In the east, north and south it borders on the Voronezh, Belgorod, and Rostov regions of the Russian Federation.

Main characteristics

Luhansk region stretches from north to south for 250 km. From west to east, its length is 190 km. The territory of Lugansk region - 26.7 thousand km, which is 4.4% of the Ukrainian land. The relief of the region is a wavy plain, rising from the Seversky Donets to the south and north.

History of Education

For many centuries this territory, called the Wild Field, separated Russia from the Crimean Khanate. In the XVI century. Here patrol services are beginning to be formed. At this time in this territory there is a huge number of tsarist troops. At the end of the XVII century. Here a new historical area was formed - Slobozhanshchina. With the purpose of uniting the coal regions into one, in 1919 the Donetsk province was formed with the center in the city of Lugansk, which existed until 1925. From 1925 to 1930 there was the Lugansk district. In June 1925 the gubernias in Ukraine were abolished, and the district became directly subordinate to the Ukrainian SSR.

Lugansk region received its present name in 1958. And before that, since the separation of the Stalin Region in 1938, it was called Voroshilovgradskaya. However, the original name returned in the period from 1970 to 1990. Then it was decided to re-elect the second option. After the collapse of the USSR, the Lugansk region remained part of an independent Ukraine.

Minerals

These territories are famous for their deposits of high-quality coal. They are estimated in billions of tons. One third of them are coking, and two thirds are anthracites. There are also deposits of natural gas. Sandstone, limestone, marl, chalk, various clays are found in several regions of the Lugansk region. Sources of mineral waters were discovered in Lugansk, Lisichansk, Severodonetsk, Starobelsk.

Climatic conditions

The territory of the Lugansk region is dominated by a temperate continental climate. In January, the average temperature is -15 ° C, and in July +35 ° C. In this area is a relatively cold winter. Its distinctive feature is the sharp south-east and east winds and strong frosts. Summer here is hot and dry. In the autumn, in Luhansk, it is warm, dry and sunny. Precipitation is about 500 mm per year.

Soil and vegetation

Fertile lands are what Ukraine has always been famous for. Lugansk region in this case is not an exception. Here black soils predominate. The thickness of the fertile layer in some places reaches 1-1.5 m. Here, soddy soils are also common. The greater part of Lugansk region is the steppe. There are few forests here - they occupy about 7% of the region's territory.

Economy

Favorable geographical position of the region contributed to the development of the economy. This is the territory of long-established lands. Its advantages are:

• Proximity to raw materials-rich areas, such as the North Caucasus, the Dnieper, the Black Earth Region of Russia;
• Presence of a well-developed network of roads and railways;
• Proximity of large industrial centers and districts (Kharkov, Center of Russia, Rostov-on-Don).

What is famous for Lugansk region? 2014 brought destruction to all sectors of the economy of this region. Until recently, the mining and chemical industries, heavy engineering, metallurgy, and agriculture flourished there. This region was one of the five most developed industrial and economic regions of Ukraine. Here, up to 5% of all labor resources and about 4.6% of the country's fixed assets were concentrated. Industry was the leading branch of the economy. Its share in the gross domestic product was three quarters.

Industrial complex of Lugansk region

In the diversified complex of Lugansk region the processing industry was leading. In the total volume of production, its share was about 72%. It is represented by enterprises of oil refining, coke production, machine building, petrochemical and chemical industries. In the region there were factories for the production of pulp and paper products, food products, building materials. The production of Lugansk region could be found not only on the territory of Ukraine, but also far beyond its borders. The main trading partner of this region was the Russian Federation.

Industry of the region

There are several heavy industry enterprises in the region. Also here is developed the fuel and energy complex, the main part of which is made up by extractive enterprises. In total production, they make up about 18%. The mining industry consists mainly of coal enterprises. Lugansk region in the industrial complex of the country stands out for its scale of coal mining, the capacities of primary oil refining, the production of metal cutting machines, window glass, synthetic resins, plastics, soda ash, container cardboard.

In this region, the three largest industrial centers were formed:

• Lugansky - his specialization is determined by metalworking enterprises of machine building, light industry.
• Lisichansk-Rubezhansko-Severodonetskiy - enterprises of petrochemical, chemical industry.
• Alchevsko-Stakhanovsky - metallurgical, coal and machine-building complexes.

The rating of the 100 largest Ukrainian enterprises is:

• OJSC Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works.
• PP "Rovenkyanthracite".
• GAEK "Luganskoblenergo".
• Zhidachev pulp and paper mill.
• State enterprise Severodonetsk nitrogen.
• Stakhanov ferroalloy plant.
• OJSC Linos.
• JSC Lisichanskaya Soda.

Agriculture

The villages of Lugansk region are the basis of agriculture of this territory. Manufacturers specialize in the production of Maslenica (sunflower) and cereals (winter wheat, corn) crops. Livestock and vegetable growing are quite developed. Villagers grow dairy-meat cattle, pigs, sheep. Poultry farming is well developed in the region. All agricultural production is concentrated in 19 administrative units. They are divided into 3 production zones (depending on the soil-climatic and economic conditions): southern, northern and suburban. At the disposal of agricultural producers is 2.2 million hectares of land, of which 1.3 million hectares occupy cultivated areas. The application of modern agricultural technology helps to collect very high yields of various crops, vegetables and melons.

The population of Lugansk region

Lugansk region is characterized by a high level of urbanization. In this region, about 86.5% of the population lives in cities. The density is 96 people per 1 sq. Km. Km. This indicator is the seventh among all cities of Ukraine. Over 53% of the population are women. Approximately 60% of the region's residents are people of working age. There are 706 children and pensioners per thousand able-bodied people. The birth rate in the region is 6.1 ppm. In recent years, there has been a continuing downward trend in the population of Luhansk. The natural decline in the administrative regions was not the same.

In 2013 the number of Lugansk region was 2.3 million people. This region ranks 6th in terms of the number of people in Ukraine. For the period from 1.01.2014 to 1.09. In 2014 the population decreased by 6.6 thousand people.

National composition

Representatives of 104 nationalities live in the Lugansk region. The proportion of Ukrainians is just over 50% of the total population. Russians - about 40%. Most of them live in the areas near Lugansk. Other representatives include Belarusians (1%) and Tatars (less than 1%).

Religion

Ukraine (Lugansk region including) is distinguished by the presence of many denominations. In the territory of the region under consideration, there are 45 directions of religion. They are represented by 791 religious organizations (764 communities, 10 regional administrations and associations, 5 educational institutions, 6 spiritual missions, 6 monasteries). There are 188 Sunday schools in the region. On the territory of Luhansk oblast, 1107 priests are engaged in the affairs of the church.

Among the total number of communities in the region:

• 58.2% - Orthodox (444 communities);
• 24.2% - Protestants (185);
• 14% - non-traditional and newest religious movements (107);
• 1,7% - Jews (13);
• 1.3% Muslims (10);
• 0,5% - Greek Catholics (4 parishes);
• 0.1% - Roman Catholics (1 community).

Administrative division

Districts of the Lugansk region: Troitsky, Starobelsky, Slavyanoserbsky, Stanichno-Luhansky, Sverdlovsk, Svatovsky, Perevalsky, Popasnyansky, Novopskovskiy, Melovsky, Novoyaydarskiy, Markovsky, Kremenka, Lutuginsky, Krasnodon, Belovodsky, Anthracite, Belokurakinsky. There are 933 settlements in it, of which:

• 37 cities (14 regional and 23 districts);
• 109 - urban-type settlements;
• 787 - villages.

On the territory of the region there are: 17 district and 37 city councils, 84 township councils and 206 village councils.

Industrial centers

In addition to Lugansk, which is a major industrial center of the East of Ukraine, other settlements play an important role in the economic development of the region. These include, for example, Sverdlovsk. Lugansk region is characterized by the fact that even in relatively small towns there are different enterprises. Here are: the coal-processing complex Sverdlovanthracite, Mayak, the Canadian company East Coal Company, JV Intersplav, Sverdlovsk Machine-Building Plant, the mining equipment plant. Sverdlovsk (Lugansk region) has in its subordination: Chernopartizansk, 6 townships (Volodarsk, Pavlovka, Kalininsky, Leninsky, Shakhtersky, Fedorovka), 3 settlements (Kiselevo, Prokhladny, Ustinovka), 7 villages (Kuryach, Malomedvezhye, Utkino , Matveyevka, Rytikovo, Anthracop, Provalye) and the Ivashchensky farmstead.

Cities of Lugansk region

Earlier, the high level of urbanization in this region was mentioned. The bulk of people live in cities and numerous townships. In most of them there are large industrial enterprises. The cities of Lugansk region, whose population exceeds 18 thousand people, are: Lugansk (424,1 thousand people), Alchevsk (110.5), Severodonetsk (108.9), Lisichansk (103.5), Krasnyi Luch ( 82.2), Stakhanov (77.2), Sverdlovsk (64.9), Rubezhnoye (60.0), Anthracite (54.2), Rovenky (47.4), Bryanka (46.8), Krasnodon (44 , Pervomaisk (38.2), Kirovsk (28.2), Perevalsk (25.7), Molodogvardeysk (23.1), Popasnaya (21.8), Sukhodolsk (20.9), Kremennaya (20, 1).

Language situation

The population of the Lugansk region speaks mainly in two languages. In 2001, 30% of the population of the region considered their native language Ukrainian. However, this percentage varies greatly, depending on the type of settlements. So, only 25.5% of the citizens consider the Ukrainian language to be their native. In villages this indicator reaches 63.8%. Only 40% of schools in the region are taught in the Ukrainian language. In some cities, there are no Ukrainian-language general educational institutions at all. The most russified areas: Perevalskiy (77%), Stanichno-Luhansky (68%) and Lutuginsky (73%).